Google to Face Supreme Court Fight with a Terrorist Attack Victim's Family—Why?

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 19 February 2023, 09:02 pm

Nohemi Gonzalez was one of the victims of a terrorist attack that took place in Paris last November 2015, and more than eight years later, a lawsuit filed against Google will be heard by the US Supreme Court. To start, this terrorist attack was claimed by the Islamic State, and this led to the blame pointing to Google for their internet content.

While Google had no direct contact or hand in inciting the attack on Paris, some believe that its recommendations and content offers which include Islamic propaganda paved the way for what happened.

Google Face a Supreme Court Fight against the Gonzalez Family

(Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Google v Gonzalez is set this February to hear the case in the Supreme Court, after the Gonzalez family, Beatrice (mother) and Jose Hernandez (stepfather), appealed the case to be presented again. According to the Washington Post, this was made possible by an Israeli nonprofit law firm called Shurat HaDin, which translates to "letters of the law."

The Gonzalez family wants Google to pay for their mistakes, especially as its platform became the ground where Islam terrorists have been inspired through the recommended content on YouTube.

The firm specializes in suing tech companies for the propaganda materials present on the internet.

Terrorist Attack in Paris: Why is Google the One Sued?

Initially, the lower courts sided with Google, as in 2017, the case was dismissed due to Section 230, one that protects companies from content found online.

According to a Google blog post in January this year, "Legal risk for recommending or organizing content would reduce useful services like showing the best job listings, listing the most relevant products, or displaying the most helpful videos of recipes, songs, or sources of news, entertainment and information."

Moreover, the company argued that upending Section 230 would harm the country's free expression laws and rights.

The Gonzalez and law firm argues that Google's content led to terrorists' empowerment, as well as them taking arms to join the cause, leading to the Paris attack among many others.

Google, YouTube Lawsuits

Google has had its fair share of lawsuits and charges against its name, and one of the most famous here is with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which centers mostly on antitrust violations. There was also a case against Google with the US Department of Justice which dives into its deal with Apple to make its browser the default for Safari.

YouTube, on the other hand, is also met with interesting cases, including those labor laws that were allegedly violated and workers going on strikes to make their voices heard.

There are many problems and legal claims against Google, considering it is a massive name on the internet and it has massive control of its content and distribution to the world.

While Google already has multiple safeguards on its internet use, including that of the blurring of images for obscene results, there is still a lot it has to fix on what it brings to the public.

Now, it finally caught up to the company, a case that centers on responsibility for the content which it allows to circulate online, especially as the internet has the massive power to influence people on their actions.

This Supreme Court case would hear the victim's family side, as well as the internet company, to decide if Google is liable for what happened in 2015.